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Were shows better in the 90's?

I feel like TV all around was better in the 90's. Cartoons, sitcoms, series, ect. Like there are some great ones that have come out over the last 17 years, don't get me wrong but I have way more shows I enjoy from the 90's than I do now. Heck, I still even watch some of the older shows.

For the most part, Sitcoms in the 90s were all pretty...meh. And they were mostly the same, too. Full House, Home Improvement (though I personally LOVE Home Improvement. Only show where the biggest draw of the cast farewell after the finally was someone's chin lol), Everybody Loves Raymond, Boy Meets World. They were mostly family sitcoms. There were a few pretty good ones in there, like Fresh Prince and Fraiser, but the sitcoms were all pretty mediocre. Then again, sitcoms are ALWAYS pretty mediocre.
But cartoons back in the 90s, for the most part, were still very silly, funny, and didn't really tackle any deep subjects. Shows like Ed, Edd, n Eddy, Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Recess, Rugrats, were all just fun, enjoyable shows with nothing super substancial.
But you DID have rare shows that were really deep, beautifully drawn, and really well written, like Courage the Cowardly Dog and Powerpuff Girls, but most cartoons back in the 90s weren't super ambitious like Steven Universe or Adventure Time are now, or, heck even Regular Show on occasion (AMAZING finale episode.)

I can't really say if they were better without bias, since I was born in 89, and was a 90s kid, so those rose tinted glasses are about 90% tint lol.
But, I can say there were some terrible shows in the 90s, too. But...at least the 90s didn't butcher remakes like the 10s are doing now. Why does everyone in the new Magic School Bus look like they could on Newgrounds?????????

Depends what you define as better. Old, classical and realistic TV shows? Then, yes. But since the movie-making industry has been modernized along with everything else in this world, the TV shows have become modern as well. Honestly, I prefer the current TV shows, might be because I haven't watched any TV shows from the 90's, but honestly, the only movies I like from the 90's are hits such as Top Gun.

Being a 90's kid/teen I will admit for awhile I thought stuff from the 90's were better, but as said above I looked through rose colored glasses. Most of the shows were pretty good, but thoughtless fun. I can only think of a handful that not only good, but had deeper meaning to them Exosquad, Batman: TAS and X-Men: TAS. I also feel movies were a lot more original and creative before the 2000's, but then again there is Batman & Robin to prove that the 90's made god awful garbage too. BTW Rexy, Top Gun was made in 1986 still a good movie.

I've thought about this objectively and I certainly think that on the whole, '90s anime series were better. That's not to say I'm not a fan of the past two decades as I am, but there is an overabundance of stuff like high school anime.

Cartoons... some very good points in this thread so far. I loved silly cartoons as a kid, especially Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy. The point is, while they seem to lack substance now, as kids we didn't really care about that.

I also loved other cartoons though like (the good) Spider-Man, X-Men and TMNT. Of course they had more thought put into them. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was a blast. Regardless of the substance, are cartoons nowadays better? I felt like vomiting when I saw a PC-ified version of a cartoon I loved.

As for live action TV shows, I really think the '00s were the true turning point. Technology was starting to change everything and shows made use of that. To me, the '00s was the best decade of TV. Some of my favourite shows debuted then, including 24 (my absolute favourite), Cold Case, Dexter, Fringe and Breaking Bad. In short...

Anime: Yes
Cartoons: Possibly
TV Series: No

Gene: "Have faith in me guys, enjoy the ride—you're in good hands. I can handle this. I can do it!"Jim: "How do you know?"Gene: "I don't!"Jim: "I knew it."Gene: "That's okay. There's a first time for everything!"

Regardless of the substance, are cartoons nowadays better? I felt like vomiting when I saw a PC-ified version of a cartoon I loved.

Which show was it out of curiosity?

Anywho, it depends on the show. Every generation has it's fair share of good and bad shows. Personally, I do gravitate towards stuff from the past. I think some of the cartoons from the 80s still have a charm to it that's very exclusive to that and even had stuff that would never be seen today. On a different note, Cartoon Network shows from the 90s and early 2000s. It just seems to be less corporately driven and more creator driven and thus, we got a lot of memorable shows out of the deal. Nowadays, it seems most cartoons lack sincerity. For an example of this, just compare the Teen Titans series from the early 2000s to Teen Titans Go which...well, just look up some clips on youtube to see just how the mighty have fallen.

I don't watch much live action TV nowadays, so I can't really comment on that. I would say that I think with the advent of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, that it has allowed some creators to be more ballsy with shows that some networks wouldn't typically greenlight.

I thought it over and all the shows I did like from the 90's does have to do with a simpler time. I guess deep down I would love to see people interacting like they did then. The lack of computers in every house, smart phones, and so on makes them better for me I suppose. There are some shows I like that are on now but I think the reason I am not as into shows today as I was in the 90's is down to my lack of things to do back then. I have been using computers since 1995, sure, but it wasn't till around 2001 did I really get invested with them and at that point, I was watching MUCH less tv.

What I miss watching are some of the 90's sitcoms like friends, Malcolm in the middle and Frasier. Also some shows like The X-Files , Hercules, Xena and The Highlander. When it comes to cartoons and animes I miss Dexter's Lab and Street Fighter.

Dennis the Menace. In the UK Dennis isn't some blond kid. He's a black-haired true troublemaker. Well, he was. Now he's a lot tamer... and lame.

Originally Posted by Kakashi2020

Malcolm in the middle

I loved this show. Rewatched a lot of it recently.

Gene: "Have faith in me guys, enjoy the ride—you're in good hands. I can handle this. I can do it!"Jim: "How do you know?"Gene: "I don't!"Jim: "I knew it."Gene: "That's okay. There's a first time for everything!"

It's not that shows are boring these days, it's just that you and I have matured. So our taste with things is now different. Before we love watching cartoons the whole day while lying on the couch, but I believe now you look for something more, something that makes more sense and is educational, and will make you a better person compared to yesterday. Just my two cents.